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Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (Earth-616)
| CurrentMembers = Adam, Agent 13, Agent 22, Agent 33, Agent Cheesecake, Agent Crimson, Agent Deems, Agent Hook, Agent L, Agent Lindsay, Agent M, Agent McAllister, Agent Melvey, Agent Owen, Agent Whitman, Alexander Goodwin Pierce, Steve Rogers, Carstairs, Colletti, Commander Maria Hill, Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine, Diamondback, Dr. Harold Beaker, Dum Dum Dugan, Annie Wong, Farrell, M-80, Bev Sykes, Harry Givens, Forensic Agent Jenna Carlisle, Frank, Gaffer, John Garrett, Gomez, Joe, Special Agent Marquez, Jasper Sitwell, Skids, Spider-Woman, Kali Vries, She-Hulk, Druid, Thompson, Tony, Nick Fury, Jr, Agent Phil Coulson, Hawkeye, Black Widow | FormerMembers = Nick Fury, Black Widow (Yelena Belova), Tony Stark, Shadowcat, Arabian Knight, Sheva Joseph, Agent Simon, Redeemer, Ant-Man, Override, Arthur Perry,Alex DePaul, Agent Waynesboro, Jack Norriss, Quasar, G.W. Bridge, Falcon, Mockingbird, Alisanda Morales, Jebediah Young, Tony Masters, Gabe Jones, Lt. Eugene Cattivo, Wonder Man, Jake Oh, S.H.I.E.L.D. Super-Agents, Stan Carter, Sentry, Tigra, Jimmy Woo, Carol Danvers, Moonstar, Joaquin Pennysworth, Wolverine, Dr. Sal Kennedy, Jack Truman, Rick Stoner, Nance Winters, Richard Parker, Mary Fitzpatrick-Parker, Scorpion, Multiple Man, Clay Quartermain, Victoria Hand, Agent Preston | Allies = United Nations, Avengers, Fantastic Four | Enemies = Hydra, A.I.M., Zodiac | Origin = Formed to keep the peace and order of the world | PlaceOfFormation = | PlaceOfDefunction = | Creators = Stan Lee; Jack Kirby | First = Strange Tales Vol 1 #135 | Last = | HistoryText = Foundation and Structure Founded to combat technologically advanced threats on world security (specifically the menace of Hydra), S.H.I.E.L.D. has, throughout the years, remained on the front lines fighting terrorism and extraterrestrial menaces as an international intelligence agency. In its original incarnation, S.H.I.E.L.D. stood for 'Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-enforcement Division', and was a branch of the United States government. Veteran spy and soldier Colonel Nick Fury had set out plans for the organization at some point after World War II, but decided not to act since he felt the U.S. government would deny such a request. A United Nations-based international group somehow obtained the plans, and presented them to the U.S. government as a viable countermeasure against the nascent threat of Hydra. S.H.I.E.L.D. was subsequently formed without Fury's knowledge. Fury first realized that his brainchild had been made reality when he was approached by the founders of the group to act as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Public Director, as his predecessor Rick Stoner had met an untimely end. While Fury acted as the operational head of the agency, he answered to these founders, the Executive Board, whose identities were hidden even from him. Otherwise, Fury was the highest ranking agent in an eight-rank tier. Some suspect that Tony Stark, billionaire playboy and the superheroic Iron Man, may have been one of the Board. As director, Colonel Fury took a very active hand in S.H.I.E.L.D. operations, often going into the field himself on their most important missions. Supporting him, aside from the thousands of rank-and-file S.H.I.E.L.D. agents working around the world, were a core group of capable officers. Fury's aide-de-camp was the man who had filled the same function for his Howling Commandos in World War II, the boisterous Timothy 'Dum Dum' Dugan. Another ex-Howler joined S.H.I.E.L.D. in the person of Gabe Jones, whose presence had made the Howlers the Army's first racially integrated unit. There was also the by-the-books Jasper Sitwell, who balanced and sometimes clashed with the more emotional members of the command staff. The brilliant Sidney 'The Gaffer' Levine acted as head of Research & Development, designing many high-tech specialty gadgets to supplement the weapons and vehicles provided by Stark Enterprises. Later, Laura Brown, the daughter of the Imperial Hydra, defected from Hydra to join S.H.I.E.L.D.. Jimmy Woo, hero of clashes with the villainous Yellow Claw, served as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s FBI liaison agent. Clay Quartermain was a resident 'pretty boy' super-agent. La Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine ('Val' to her friends), a member of the European jet-set, proved to be equally skilled, as well as one of Fury's lovers. Another prominent member was Sharon Carter (Agent 13), a frequent partner and eventual lover of Captain America. The equipment of S.H.I.E.L.D. has always been at least as distinctive as its membership. A series of flying fortresses invariably known as the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier served as the mobile headquarters of the organization. Other vehicles such as hoverfliers, flying cars and tunneling vehicles rounded out S.H.I.E.L.D.'s vehicle complement. Agents carried a variety of personal gear as well. Fury's weapon of choice was a 300-round .15 caliber pistol specially designed to fire explosive-tipped needles. Tear gas boutonnieres, explosive shirts, rear-view periscope hats, camera-phone watches, jetpacks, cigars laced with various chemical compounds (including flash bombs), and other tools of the spy trade insured that S.H.I.E.L.D. agents always had access to the right equipment. One of the most distinctive inventions of The Gaffer was the Life-Model Decoy (LMD), an extremely lifelike android designed to emulate the behavior of a specific individual, usually used to replace someone in danger of being killed. During the Cold War S.H.I.E.L.D. also maintained a large headquarters in New York City, as well as other bases in every major city in the Western world, and hidden outposts in many Communist countries. Various specialized teams of agents have been utilized, such as the Psi Division and Super Agents. At one time, S.H.I.E.L.D. had command over an incarnation of the Hulkbusters. Throughout the years, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents have left the service to perform acts both heroic and villainous. Some went rogue, such as Mentallo, becoming threats to society. Others, like Quasar, joined the superhero community. Since the early days, S.H.I.E.L.D., through Fury, has maintained close ties to groups like the Avengers and Fantastic Four, and with individuals like Captain America, Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff), and Wolverine, ensuring that a capable and varied pool of special operatives were readily available. That said, S.H.I.E.L.D. often came into conflict with members of the superhero community who worked through less than legal means or against government aims. Fury's friendships with many superheroes conflicted with his duties in these cases. Exploits S.H.I.E.L.D.'s main enemy, Hydra, continued to be a threat throughout Nick Fury's first years as director. It became apparent that Fury's old wartime foe, Baron von Strucker, had become the new Supreme Hydra, with plans to to menace the world with a deadly biological weapon. Fury took the fight to the enemy stronghold, Hydra Island, turning this weapon on its makers. When Godzilla was freely roaming the earth, a task force under Dum Dum Dugan's command, the Godzilla Squad, set forth to capture him. They used a smaller version of the Helicarrier called the Behemoth, as well as a giant robot called Red Ronin, before Godzilla disappeared into the Atlantic. Another great threat was formed as a result of a lapse in S.H.I.E.L.D. security, when the supervillain Scorpio, actually Fury's brother Jake, stole the LMD technology to create the second team of villains called the Zodiac. The first dismantling of S.H.I.E.L.D. occurred in the wake of a wide-scale infiltration of the agency, again involving LMDs. In this case, a group of LMDs attained sentience, infiltrating both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, replacing key members of both before being defeated by Fury and an impromptu force of allies. The reorganized S.H.I.E.L.D. was backed by the United Nations, with the acronym now standing for 'Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage and Logistics Directorate'. Shortly after, Baron Strucker, long thought to have died on Hydra Island, returned as the new head of Hydra and the organizations again clashed. The new organization had some internal structural changes, with the eight-rank system being replaced by a ten-rank one. Also, there existed "Full Champion License", a rarely-awarded accolade known to be held by Captain America, whereby the holder has authority to assemble any team they sees fit for any mission they see fit. This was the legal basis for the formation of the New Avengers. In the wake of Nick Fury's Secret War in Latveria, he was removed from the directorship and forced into hiding. His replacement was not one of his close associates in the high ranks, but a newcomer, Commander Maria Hill. Her appointment by the U.S. president was meant to ensure S.H.I.E.L.D. bias towards American interests, and her lack of connection to the superhero community was meant to keep S.H.I.E.L.D. from aiding them. This came to the fore when S.H.I.E.L.D. units nicknamed 'Cape-Killers' were tasked with enforcing the Superhuman Registration Act. Just prior to the Civil War, Captain America estimated that there were 3,000 S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on active duty. Towards the end of that conflict, Commander Hill decided that she had been made Executive Director so that she would fail. She proposed that Tony Stark take the job, with her as deputy director. After the victory of his Pro-Registration superhero unit, he accepted the appointment. Stark undertook a series of initiatives, including the construction of a new gold-and-red Helicarrier in the motif of his Iron Man designs, the introduction of a daycare center in the Helicarrier, and an employee suggestion-box. While accused of treating S.H.I.E.L.D. as a Stark Industries subsidiary, he succeeded in streamlining the organization and raising morale. S.H.I.E.L.D. fought a wave of global superhuman terrorism under Stark's command, but was manipulated into two international incidents that almost saw Stark arrested, until it was revealed that Mandarin was behind the smear and was stopped from committing genocide with an Extremis pathogen. H.A.M.M.E.R. At the start of the Secret Invasion by the extraterrestrial shape-shifting Skrulls, the Helicarrier was disabled by a Skrull virus and left floating and disabled in the Bermuda Triangle. By this point the Skrulls had already replaced a large number of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, including the high-ranking 'Dum-Dum' Dugan. After the invasion was repelled (thanks in part to Nick Fury and his Secret Warriors), the President of the United States decided to dissolve S.H.I.E.L.D., and had it, the 50 States Initiative, the Avengers, the Thunderbolts Initiative put under the authority of the public hero of the invasion: Norman Osborn, head of OsCorp and the original Green Goblin. Osborn used the opportunity to transform S.H.I.E.L.D. into 'H.A.M.M.E.R.' and seemingly disbanded the Thunderbolts. In reality he turned the latest Thunderbolts into a black-ops force to do his dirty work. He also founded the newest government-sponsored Avengers team, colloquially known as the Dark Avengers. Finally, he set up a Cabal formed by some of the most powerful beings on Earth, including himself, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Doctor Doom, Emma Frost, Loki and the Hood. After the Siege Following the Siege of Asgard and the revelation of Osborn's insanity, the U.S. government disbanded H.A.M.M.E.R. Although Steve Rogers, now installed in Osborn's position by the U.S. president, had the opportunity of rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D., he decided to instead rely solely on his shadow ops task force, the Secret Avengers. Reinstatement After the return of Norman Osborn and H.A.M.M.E.R., Steve Rogers rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D. from zero, with agents who could be trusted, building a new Helicarrier and giving Daisy Johnson directorship. The new S.H.I.E.L.D. subsequently saved US Army Ranger Marcus Johnson from mercenaries hired by the Leviathan, and when he discovered he was the son of Nick Fury, he and his army friend Phil Coulson joined the storied security agency . One of the first measures of the new S.H.I.E.L.D. against the appearance of new super-human threats was to create their own Avengers unit. Members Harold Beaker (Earth-616) Dr. Beaker was John Garrett's superior in San Conception, who reprimanded him for his report on Elektra, where he pretended not to know her identity and claimed that she was a Russian agent . Tony (Earth-616) Tony was one of the agents assigned to watch over Tony Stark while he was hospitalized after the battle with his Life Model Decoy, but he couldn't stop the Growing Man from capturing the multimillionaire industrialist . Former Members Eugene Cattivo (Earth-616) Lt. Eugene Cattivo resisted Elektra when she broke into the S.H.I.E.L.D. base in San Conception, and she broke his neck with her hands . | Equipment = Various including: Beta-cloth, kevlar body armor, jetpacks, teleporter, psi-blocker, Hover Discs | Transportation = S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, various flying cars, hoverfliers, Skimmer, conventional automobiles, boats and aircraft. | Weapons = Plasma pistols, needler pistols, various conventional firearms (.30 caliber machine pistol standard issue.) | Notes = Recommended Reading * Strange Tales Vol 1 nos. 135-168, 1965-1968 * Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Vol 1 nos. 1-15, 1968-1969 * Avengers Vol 1 72, 1970 * Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Vol 3 nos. 1-37, 1989-1992 * Fury Vol 1 (Oneshot issue) * Hulk Comic (UK) Vol 1 #1-19 * Godzilla Vol 1 * Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. Vol 1 Related Articles * Nick Fury * Hydra * SWORD * S.T.R.I.K.E | Trivia = | Links = }} Category:Government Organizations